Absent Friends

Absent Friends

The secrets of a group of childhood friends unravel in this haunting thriller by Edgar Award winner S. J. Rozan.

Set in New York in the unforgettable aftermath of September 11, Absent Friends brilliantly captures a time and place unlike any other, as it winds through the wounded streets of New York and Staten Island…and into a maze of old crimes, damaged lives, and heartbreaking revelations.

The result is not only an electrifying mystery and a riveting piece of storytelling but an elegiac novel that powerfully explores a world changed forever on a clear September morning.

In a novel that will catch you off guard at every turn, and one that is guaranteed to become a classic, S. J. Rozan masterfully ratchets up the tension one revelation at a time as she dares you to ponder the bonds of friendship, the meaning of truth, and the stuff of heroism.

Buy the Book

Reviews

“Many years from now when your children ask what New York City was like just after 9/11, this will be the book you give them in response. It’s an exquisite novel full of heart, soul, passion and intelligence, and it’s the one this great New York author was born to write.” –Lee Child

“The best contemporary novels create context for shared experiences that somehow remain unfathomable. Full of surprises from page one, Absent Friends is one of those–S.J. Rozan has written an ambitious, solemn, and ultimately hopeful book that shouldn’t be missed.” –Stephen White

“Rozan is a wonderful and insightful writer, and she creates an intricate, intimate portrait of a group of 40-something New Yorkers coping with a city in ruins… the book powerfully articulates the mix of heartbreak, anger, helplessness and resolve of New Yorkers after 9/11.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Rozan shifts among several narrators and between present and past in this riveting offering reminiscent of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. An unforgettable elegy to the clear September morning that forever changed our lives.” —Booklist

“Rozan pulls off a group portrait that’s both grandly scaled and painfully intimate.”–Kirkus

“A real novel, full of soul, that soars far above the average mystery.” –Martin Cruz Smith